HAMPDEN Garage Administrative Building was opened
on 17th December, 1950. This is the first trolleybus garage owned
by the Depart­ment,
is a structure of modern design, and will deal only with trolleybuses,
which are at present housed in Larkfield Garage and, again, this
trans­fer will help the overcrowded position in Larkfield
so far as diesel buses are concerned.

The site, approximately four acres in extent, acquired for Hampden
Garage lies on the northern fringe of King's Park Housing Area
between Aikenhead Road and Hampden Football Park. Undulating
and rough, the ground rose from road level to a height of 20
feet and this had to be excavated and filled to give a formation
grading upwards from Aikenhead Road at a ratio of 1 in 43, and
conforming approximately to the varying gradient of Aikenhead
Road. This necessitated the excavation by mechanical means of
about 18,000 cubic yards of material, half of which was used
for filling and the remainder removed from the site. A
layer of ashes was laid and rolled over the formation, the slopes
being dressed for sowing with grass seed.

After necessary drains and services had been laid, the portion
of the site (amounting to approx­imately 2 1/2 acres), required
for present purposes was covered with 9 inches of concrete, reinforced
with one layer of square mesh reinforcement and laid in 30ft.
by 15ft. bays with expansion joints, reservations being left
for buildings, servicing pits, etc. The plant used consisted
of central batchers and mixers, the concrete being pumped through
steel pipes to the part of the area in which it was being laid.
The remaining 1 1/2 acres of the site is reserved for future
expansion.

The Administrative Building is erected, with a North and South
axis, on the Eastern portion of the site, having its main elevation
facing Aikenhead Road. This elevation is 64 feet from the boundary
fence, the intervening space being occupied by a plot for flowering
trees and shrubs and a 34 foot roadway, which permits of a single
access gateway for exit and entry of the vehicles and their free
circulation round the perimeter of the building.

Hampden Trolleybus Garage

The building on the main is on a single storey principle, with
direct access to all departments from an open covered passage
running the length of the Western or rear elevation of the structure.
The staircase from the Southern end of this passage rises to
a partial first floor which contains the Depot Superintendent's
Office, Kitchen for supply­ing snack meals. Canteen and Recreation
Room. The administrative unit is disposed on the ground floor
and includes workshops which will cater for day-to-day maintenance
of the vehicles. Tin's maintenance will be augmented by three
temporary repair pits, which have been excavated and built of
brick at the North end of the building. A bothy is provided,
also vehicle cleaners' quarters with ample individual locker
accommodation, along with ancillary drying rooms for cleaners'
clothes.

For the functions of the Traffic Department, a large Depot Office
and Ticket Office are provided with an intervening passage for
the purpose of showing duty sheets, rotas, etc. These are special­ised
units and are designed to supply all the needs of drivers and
conductors for the service running of the vehicles.

The building is constructed on a 12in. concrete raft reinforced
with heavy gauge square mesh rein­forcement, top and bottom,
and the loading of the structure was calculated on a bearing
capacity of 1-ton per square foot, due to the very poor con­dition
of the ground which, according to local lore, had originally
been the site of a farmyard or, pos­sibly, a farm pond. The
structure itself is built on the multi-unit principle with 11
in. cavity brick walls externally and brick partitions internally.
The floors and roofs are of Siegwart reinforced concrete sections,
the roof slabs having a two-layer bitumen felt bonded finish
topped with chips. The external finishes of the walls are Rustic
brick and Dorset pea pebble dash, steel type horizontal sash
windows and steps to entrances built of York stone.

Internal finishes are on a modern trend ; the general floor treatment, excluding lavatories,
kitchen and workshops, is of Accotile in 9 in. square units in
alternate colours of mottled green and red, with a black cove
border. Lavatories and kitchen floors are finished in Terrazzo
of a green and cream colour scheme, with ebonite expansion points
forming an overall pattern on the floor. Paintwork is finished
generally on a light tone, with ceilings pale green, walls light
stone and dado blue ; the interiors of the windows, a tone darker
than the walls. Radiators and piping finished in bronze.

Doors are flush panel type, mahogany finish and the counter
of the Depot Office is finished in mahogany, french polished
with aluminium top and facings, all anodised and coloured metallic
green. Furniture for the canteen is of the tubular type, table
tops being finished in black Vitrolite and the chairs in red
upholstery.

Electrical supply of 600 volts is obtained direct from the Department's
Power Station at Pinkston. Water supply is from the City mains,
along with a supplementary supply from a 5,600 gallons capacity
storage tank, situated above the staircase of the building. Heating
is by steam, from a vertical cross tube boiler, automatically
stoked. The domestic hot water supply is designed as an indirect
supply system, steam being supplied to the heating coil in the
hot water storage cylinder at 140°F, maximum temperature.
In summer, when the steam is shut down, hot water service is
main­tained by the use of a sectional hot water boiler, fired
by automatic stoker. The complete plant is fully automatic. Radiators
throughout are " Cop-perad " convection type.

Further space is available for future development and it is
intended that complete mechanical work­shops will be erected
at an early date. This would then form a completely self-contained
unit for the entire repair and maintenance of 90
vehicles.

An interesting feature is that the garage floor is graded to
permit gravity parking. This system eliminates the use of numerous
overhead junctions, thus greatly reducing the initial outlay
on the over­head line equipment.